Winding key for removable container strips



Sept. 13, 1955 H. w. BENT 2,717,718

WINDING KEY FOR REMOVABLE CONTAINER STRIPS Filed May 26, 1955 I N VE NTOR BY %")7Zamazqydwm Adm);

ATTORNEY5 3e 30 J0 iii? 1514 United States Patent Other:

2 1; 7,7 l 3 Patented Sept. 13, 19,55

' WINDINGflQEY FORREMOVABLE QONTAINER ST-RIPS il erman BQutHRmkYH P n.

Application May 26, 1953, Serial No.;357;475 Q aims- {Cl-212 95 invention re at s o M n g k y of th typ ae in th tendency of h wound str p t s ft longitudinally o it associa ed winding key, out of the flat spiral or soil in .wh el t e strip h u be d pos d d rin th mem rials operation- When a st p deviates long u inally o :the winding :key iint hi m nner, t be ome an nmanag able spiral or hel (coiled irregu ar y ab ut th shank of the key. This pomplicates' considerably the completion of the strip-removing operation.

The main ,object ,gf the present invention ,is ,to provide means on a winding key which will be particularly adapted to retain the coiled stigip in a fiat spiral, from beginning to end of the winding operation.

' Another [object .is .to provide means :as described which, at the completion .of .the windingtoperation, will be shiftgable bodily longitudinallyof .the key shank ott one .end .of the key, thus -.to correspondingly shift {the coil strip and .efiect complete removal .of the strip from the key and allow reuse of the key.

Another object is to provide a device as described in which the means for holding the wound strip in the fiat spiral will constitute a hood of Ushaped cross sectional configuration, which hood will embrace the coiled strip; a rod connected to said hood and extending in parallelism with the key shank; and a sleeve to which the rod is detachably connected, said sleeve being circumposed about the shank with the shank rotating in the sleeve.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a winding key formed in accordance with the present invention, as it appears when in use, a container to which the key is applied being illustrated fragmentarily and in elevation;

Figure 2 is a view which shows the key shank fragmentarily and in elevation, the retaining hood being illustrated in section, the wound strip and its associated container also being shown in section;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the means for connecting the rod to the shank;

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view through the hood and shank, during the operation of winding the strip on the shank;

Figure 6 is a reduced elevational view of the shank and hood, at the beginning of the step of removing the wound strip from the shank; and

Figure .7 :is a view similar -to Figure 6 .in which the :hood =has been shifted longitudinallyof the shank for rernovingthe woundstripfrom the shank.

The reference numeral 10 has been applied generally in the drawing to designate a winding key formed in accordance with .the present :invention, said key being appli le to a sealing strip carried by :aconventional container 12.

The key .10 includes .a relatively enlongated shank .14 ;of circularcross section, :said ,shankbeing formed, atone end -.thereof, :with a longitudinal slot 16.

The slot 16, .as best shown in Figure 1, extends .in- -.wardly from one end of the -shank to ,a location short of the mid-length point.of the shank. It will .be understood that a conventional sealing ,strip .18 will be .formed at one end with a tongue, not,shown, engageable in-said slot for the purpose of eifecting winding-of the strip on .thekey shank responsive to rotation-of the shank.

-At that-endithereof remote from the slot 16, the shank is provided with a handle 20, which handle is-adapted to be manuallygrasped fortthe purpose of rotating the shank.

Inclosel y-spaced relation to the handle 20, the shank 1,4 :is formed witha recluced portion 22 .(Figure 4), and ,circumposed about said ereduced portion is a sleeve 24. The shank 14 rotates within the sleeve 24, the sleeve remaining stationary during the operation of removing the strip ,18 from the container. ,At the same time, the sleeve 24, beingcoextensive inglength with the length .of :t-he reduced ,portion 22, is .held against movement longitudinally .of :the .shank 14.

Ellhe sleeve 24 is provided, at one end, with an oitset arm 26,, said arm extending longitudinally of the shank 14 and being ,formed with .an aperture 28 receiving the laterally projected finger 30 on one end :of a rod 32. Rod 32 is extended parallel to the shank *14, and is of flexible formation, .thus to permit the finger 30 to be removed from the aperture 28 when the rod :is bent in the manner shown .in Figure .6.

That end of the rod :32 remote from the sleeve 24 is secured to ,a boss 34 provided upon one side wall .of a hood 2160f -U-shaped cross section. The hOOd 36, .on its opposite side walls, has rein-forcing plates or discs 38, said discs having openings in which the shank 14 is rotatably engaged.

In use of the device, the tongue of the strip 18 is engaged in slot 16, after which the shank 14 is manually rotated. This causes the strip 18 to be wound or coiled upon the shank 14 in a flat spiral, as shown in Figures 2, 3, and 5.

The side Walls of the hood 36 will be efi'ective to retain the wound strip in the flatly spiraled condition, until the strip has been completely removed from the container 12. Thereafter, the finger 30 is disengaged from the oitset arm 26 in the manner shown in Figure 6, and the user, by exerting a thumb pressure against the slotted end of the shank 14 simultaneously with the exertion of an opposing pressure by the fingers against the hood 36, will cause the hood 36 to be adjusted longitudinally of the shank 14. The hood 36 is thus removed bodily from the shank, and will carry with it the wound strip 18, the strip 18 falling oif the end of the shank at the completion of the operation. Reuse of the key is thus permitted, it being readily apparent that one need merely return the hood 36 to its normal position, with the finger 30 engaged in aperture 28. Rod 32, of course, will be of spring material, thus to permit the rod to be flexed in a manner shown in Figure 6 without danger of the rod remaining in a permanently bent condition.

The particular shape of the edges of the side walls of the hood 36 is of importance, and is shown to advantage in Figures 3 and 5. The hood side walls, as shown in these figures of the drawing, are generally segmental in shape, with rounded edge portions 40 formed thereon adjacent the intersection of the side edges of each side wall with the bight portion of the hood. These rounded edge portions shift into slidable contact with the container wall during the operation of winding said strip, the hood remaining stationary along with the rod 32 and sleeve 24 during rotation of the shank 14. The tendency of the wound strip to deviate longitudinally of the shank 14 is thus efiectively precluded.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A winding key for removing tear strips from containers, comprising: a shank slotted to receive an end of a tear strip to be coiled thereon; a guide for said strip mounted on the shank, said guide including a pair of walls fixedly connected in spaced relation and between which the strip may be coiled upon the shank, said guide being mounted on the shank for sliding movement and for rotation relative to the shank, and being shiftable between one position intermediate the ends of the shank and a second position beyond one end of the shank; sleeve I means mounted on the shank for rotation relative to the shank, the shank having abutments engaging the sleeve means against movement longitudinally of the shank; and a rod element secured to said guide and extending longitudinally of the shank, said rod element having one end detachably connectable to said sleeve means for normally holding the guide in the first position thereof.

2. A winding key for removing tear strips from containers, comprising: a shank slotted to receive an end of a tear strip to be coiled thereon; a guide for said strip mounted on the shank, said guide including a pair of walls fixedly connected in spaced relation and between which the strip may be coiled upon the shank, said guide being mounted on the shank for sliding movement and for rotation relative to the shank, and being shiftable between one position intermediate the ends of the shank and a second position beyond one end of the shank; sleeve means mounted on the shank for rotation relative to the shank, the shank having abutments engaging the sleeve means against movement longitudinally of the shank, said sleeve means including a sleeve element cir- :umposed about and rotatable upon the shank and an \rm having an aperture; and a rod element secured to .aid guide and extending longitudinally of the shank, said rod element having one end removably engageable in said aperture to hold the guide releasably in the firstlarned position thereof.

3. A winding key for removing tear strips from containers, comprising: a shank slotted to receive an end of a tear strip to be coiled thereon; a guide for said strip mounted on the shank, said guide including a pair of walls fixedly connected in spaced relation and between which the strip may be coiled upon the shank, said guide being mounted on the shank for sliding movement and for rotation relative to the shank, and being shiftable between one position intermediate the ends of the shank and a second position beyond one end of the shank; sleeve means mounted on the shank for rotation relative to the shank, the shank having abutments engaging the sleeve means against movement longitudinally of the shank, said sleeve means including a sleeve element circumposed about and rotatable upon the shank and an arm having an aperture; and a rod element secured to said guide and extending longitudinally of the shank, said rod element having one end removably engageable in said aperture to hold the guide releasably in the firstnamed position thereof, the rod element being formed of spring material tensioned to normally bias said end of the rod element into said aperture.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Johnston et al. Nov. 9, 1954 

